


New Beginnings

by pearsonasnic



Series: Unexpected Pairing [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Regina Mills - Freeform, Swan Queen - Freeform, emma swan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-07-15 20:50:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7238002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearsonasnic/pseuds/pearsonasnic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma and Regina decide that they want something more than a fling from each other, is this the start of something good in both their lives?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first SwanQueen fic, it's pretty basic in premise really but just wanted to try something simple to start with. I'm going to hesitantly place this as happening somewhere around season 2.

Neither were sure when it happened, was it that first time they met or sometime later during all the battles with darkness both inner and outer. 

It started off small but somehow managed to escape even themselves into something out of their own control.

There was so much fire and passion involved.

The very first time they kissed it had started with an argument and turned into something a lot more. Their lips fiercely meeting, each one trying to gain dominance over the other. Neither spoke of their encounter but that didn’t stop it from happening again. Before either knew what was happening they’d ended up in the bedroom still with that power struggle. Nails scraping into skin, marring each other leaving bruises and bite marks. In the end though they’d curl up in bed holding onto each other and soaking up the others presence till morning came when they’d say nothing to each other but exchange a quick nod which said everything.

Along the way things got more complicated between them. All the passion was still there but it also became about taking care of each other. The touches gentler more caressing. 

Still neither said a thing and both were struggling with internal battles over what it all meant.

So this is how Emma ended up on Regina’s doorstep taking a deep breath before knocking. The moments before the door opened were agonising her heart beating so hard at what she knew she was about to do at what needed to be done. Her body shook slightly as she tried to keep herself composed.

“Regina” she breathed out upon seeing the other woman.

The briefest flash of confusion shot across the mayors face but before she could get a word out Emma was already speaking again. “I think we need to talk”

Regina’s only reply was to nod and stand aside letting the blonde enter her house.

Once stepping inside there was a brief awkward moment where Emma hovered in the foyer as Regina closed the door and turned to face her. At this precise moment words seemed to have failed her and she found herself stammering.

“Well Miss Swan, spit it out.” Regina being ever the expert at hiding her true feelings wore a mask of indifference.

This did not help Emma’s current predicament as she gawped back at the brunette. Maybe this was a mistake after all. No, all those moments together meant something. 

“Regina, look I just wanted to say that I want more from us. I mean I like what we have now but we could be more.”  
“You’re insinuating that there is even an us to begin with.” Only a slight quiver in her voice gave away her true feelings that was undetectable to most.

“Don’t push me away, please. We don’t have to make it official or anything, just maybe spend some time together where it’s not just y’know sex.”

Regina narrowed her eyes contemplating what Emma had just said. It was a lot for her to take in but she couldn’t deny to herself that there wasn’t something there. She felt something for this woman standing in front of her. There was a lot of risk though, they could both end up hurt and not to mention Henry.

Put out slightly by the long pause Emma wanted to say something more, to persuade her. 

When she next opened her mouth the words just came tumbling out. “We can take this one step at a time, not even label it a relationship till you’re ready, till we’re both ready. I just know I want to spend time with you, get to know you.”

“Ok”

“Wait, what?” Emma had not allowed herself the hope of maybe this would work out so the response made her question whether she’d heard right.

“I said Ok, Miss Swan. We shall see where this goes.”

Emma’s face lit up. “Ok then, so when are you going to stop calling me Miss Swan and use my name.”

Regina turned towards her living room, gesturing for the other to follow and using that moment when the blonde was behind her to hide the smile that had spread across her features. 

“I believe I’ve spoken your name plenty of times, Emma.”

Emma’s cheeks reddened slightly as they both sat down, knowing that Regina was referring to their bedroom escapades.

A smirk was playing across Regina’s lips.

From there they talked for hours, it was easier than either had expected. Emma did most of the talking with Regina hanging onto her every word. It was only when they realised how late it was that reluctantly Emma left. Both women went to bed that night feeling content, happy even, this was the start of something good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Regina decide that they want something more than a fling from each other, is this the start of something good in both their lives?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has read so far, it means so much to me that people are actually reading what I write.

It was a couple days later before Regina saw Emma again, they had a weekly dinner ‘date’ set up. The arrangement being that they would eat together with Henry and Emma could spend some time with him before he was off to bed and then the real fun would begin. Tonight however they intended to be different, having agreed that they needed to spend more time away from the bedroom. 

So the usual comfy routine played out, Henry running in from school excited that he was going to be spending the night with both his mothers. Regina reminded him to do his homework before Emma came and she started on preparing the food, the ever favourite dish of lasagne.

An hour and a half later a familiar tap came from the door and barely seconds later Henry came bounding down the stairs two at a time shouting, “I’ll get it.”

Regina was sat at the table reading some papers from work but was also listening hard to the blonde’s voice as she and Henry greeted each other. Moments later Emma appeared in the kitchen with their son at her side.

“Hey, what’s to eat? I’m starving.”

“Hello, Miss Swan. Can you think of anything other than your stomach?”

“Nope, you know me.”

It was then that Henry tugged on Emma’s arm wanting to show her his new video game. As much as she wanted to spend more time with Regina, she reluctantly followed after him but not before glancing back to the other woman.

Left alone in the kitchen Regina smiled to herself, she really did enjoy their time together with just the three of them as a family. It was then that the thought struck her that maybe she could see a future with Emma. A mixture of emotions rose up within her and lodged themselves in her chest. She really wanted this to work and that was terrifying because how could she deserve someone like Emma and what if it didn’t work out or the ever present possibility of losing another love.

A loud beeping announcing that dinner was ready jarred Regina out of her thoughts. She took a few steadying breathes to try regain her composure before getting up to serve the food.

A few minutes later and there were three plates of lasagne sitting on the table and Regina was calling for Emma and Henry to come get their food. She’d barely finished calling for them when the sounds of feet rushing down the stairs could be heard before they both appeared in the kitchen.

Regina raised her eyebrows, “honestly Emma you’re as bad as he is, you’ll both trip over your own feet if you’re not careful.”

The blonde gave a sheepish grin as she sat down, “it’s your cooking it’s just so good, right kid?”

Henry who was already half way through his first mouthful nodded his agreement.

Rolling her eyes Regina smiled before tucking into her own plate, though she was suddenly not quite as hungry as she had been with her earlier thoughts playing around her mind.

Conversation drifted towards how Henry’s day at school had been before settling into a comfortable silence.

Regina felt legs entwine with her own under the table, she stiffened at the touch. Despite the fact that it was only Henry in the room and he could not see, this was the closest they had been outside of their own company. She glanced over to Emma who was looking at her out of the corner of her eye and relaxed. The faintest of blushes crept across her cheeks, why must the younger woman make her feel this way, she loved it and hated it at the same time. 

This was the moment that Henry chose to start up the conversation again and they both had to draw their eyes away from each other to focus on their son who was smiling at his mothers.

“Can we have ice cream after?” asked Henry

Exasperated Regina replied “you haven’t even finished your lasagne yet.”

“When I’m finished though?” he gave his best puppy dog eyes to emphasise his point.

“You can’t say no after that!” Emma exclaimed.

Regina rolled her eyes. “Fiiine” but she was also smiling at her two goofballs.

When all their plates where empty Henry jumped up to his feet to help clear the table, in the hopes of speeding up to the part where he gets ice cream.

“Slow down kid it’s not a race” Emma laughed.

“Quicker we clean up quicker we get ice cream” Henry replied.

Whilst Emma and Henry were starting to clear up and begin washing the dishes Regina got out some rocky road ice cream with bowls and spoons. Once everything was washed and put away they started dishing out the ice cream. They decided to eat in the living room but only after much begging from Emma and Henry and a reluctant acceptance from Regina.

The rest of the evening with Henry was nice and Regina and Emma couldn’t help but glance across to each other looking into the others eyes. As much as they enjoyed spending time with their son they couldn’t wait to be alone in their own company.

Finally, Regina looked over to the clock and said “Right bedtime.”

“Aww no please can I stay up a bit later.”

“No kid you’ve got school in the morning” Emma replied.

“Ok, I love you both” he said kissing and hugging both his mother’s goodnight before leaving to go upstairs.

As soon as he had reached the top of the stairs Emma slid across the couch resting her head on Regina’s shoulder and entwining their fingers together. 

The brunette sighed contently as she rested her cheek against Emma’s head, she hadn’t forgotten her earlier worries but right now this was nice, she didn’t want to spoil their evening.

After a brief pause enjoying each other’s company Emma turned her head to look up into Regina’s eyes and smiled “hmmm this is so nice, spending time with you.”

She brought her free hand up to cup the mayors face stroking her thumb against her skin and brought their lips together in a soft sweet kiss. 

When they broke apart Emma couldn’t help but whisper “Regina.”

Their foreheads were pressed together lips almost touching breathing each other’s air when Regina brought her lips back to meet Emma’s, mouths parting. The blonde’s hands began wandering, fingers brushing up her shirt against bare skin.

Soon they were both overtaken by the moment as they always are. It was an addiction, an addiction to each other’s presence, touch and taste. In desperation to be as close as possible to one another, skin pressed against skin, their clothes are discarded haphazardly.

It’s only when a noise is heard from upstairs that they come to their senses enough for Regina to poof them back to her room in a haze of purple smoke.

They continue right where they left off, Emma trailing kisses along Regina’s jaw until she reached her neck where she sucked and nibbled.

“What happened to having more than sex?” Regina teased.

Emma paused and brought herself up to gaze into Regina’s eyes, “we can have more but we can have this too.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Regina decide that they want something more than a fling from each other, is this the start of something good in both their lives?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you everyone for the lovely feedback it means more to me than you could ever know. Here goes chapter 3!

The next morning found both women curled together in each other’s arms, Emma was the first to wake. She glanced over to the clock noting that there was still a little bit of time before the alarm was to go off and so settled back down gazing at her lovers face. This was a rare moment that she was going to enjoy. Most days Regina was the first to wake with Emma reluctantly brought out of sleep by the blaring of the alarm. Getting up early meant that she could dress and sneak away ensuring that Henry was none the wiser.

She loved watching Regina sleep, her face relaxed and peaceful, no barriers that where normally thrown up as soon as she woke. With their latest agreement Emma couldn’t help but wonder whether this morning would be different to every other morning. Emma gently caressed the brunette’s cheek, brushing stray hairs away from Regina’s face. She hoped that when those eyes opened she would see the woman who she was developing intense feelings for instead of the colder woman who pushed her away like their nights had never happened.

Not long later Regina’s eyes fluttered open and much to Emma’s relief she didn’t pull away or close herself off, instead a sleepy smile tugged at her lips.

“Hey sleepy” Emma whispered.

“Who are you calling sleepy” Regina teased. “I’m surprised to see you awake.”

“I’m just full of surprises” Emma said kissing Regina on the forehead. “This is nice we should just stay here all day.”

Regina raised an eyebrow, “So you want to explain to Henry why you’re in my bed do you?”

“Uh good point.”

That was the moment that the alarm chose to go off and interrupt their warm cosy time and Regina was instantly up and wrapping herself in a robe and turning to her closet to pick out her clothes for the day. The last thing Emma wanted was to get up and out from under the covers that were so soft and smelled like Regina.

“Go jump in the shower Emma, before Henry is up, preferably.”

Emma reluctantly got out of bed but instead of going to the bathroom she wrapped her arms around Regina’s waist and whispered, “you could always join me.”

Regina turned around in Emma’s arms “that would make us both very late.”

“I suppose you’re right but a girl can hope,” Emma replied cheekily before kissing Regina on the lips.

Regina pulled away gently saying, “go shower now.”  
Whilst Emma was showering Regina laid out her clothes, she would jump in the shower after. She couldn’t help but smile thinking about the previous evening, it was just so perfect and she would have loved to pretend that things could be that simple. That a relationship with the saviour would work out and everyone would accept them and there would be no complications. She also knew however that that’s not how life worked out, her past was proof of that.

A sound from Henry’s room drew her out of her thoughts and suddenly she remembered that last night they had left their clothes scattered about the living room. Oh no she thought what’s he doing awake so early, normally she would wake him up when Emma was leaving.

Quickly she made a bee line for her door to reach downstairs before Henry and luckily she did and waved her hand to magic their clothes away back upstairs. She was just in time though because no sooner had she done it Henry appeared behind her.

“Morning Mom,” he yawned.

“Good morning Henry,” she smiled. “You’re awake early.”

“Yeah woke up and decided to just get up.”

“Ok, well I need to go take a shower so why don’t you get yourself some cereal and I’ll be back down in a bit,” she said walking back towards the stairs.

“Sure,” Henry replied heading in the direction of the kitchen.

Damn Regina thought, this made getting Emma out unnoticed far more complicated than usual.

The blonde was still in the bathroom when Regina got back to her room and instead of waiting she just walked straight in.

Emma was getting out of the shower when Regina walked in. She raised an eyebrow. “Changed your mind about showering together now have we?”

Before the brunette could even think of responding Emma was kissing her. Momentarily Regina forgot her purpose of being there and kissed back. It was not until Emma had pulled her robe from around her that she remembered and placed her hand on the other woman’s forearms and gently pushed her away.

Breathing heavy Regina looked at Emma and sighed, “we can’t.” The quizzical look she received prompted her to explain further, “there’s nothing more I want right now but Henry is up early.”

Understanding and a hint of worry crossed Emma’s face, “what are we going to do?”

“You get ready while I shower and don’t leave the room till I’m done.”

Once Emma was dressed she had to wait for Regina and so lay back down on the bed. Thoughts of the brunette and their son floated through her mind and before she knew it her eyes were closing drifting off to sleep.

Moments later she was being gently shook awake and snapped her eyes open, startled by the wakeup call. 

Regina was smiling, “now who’s sleepy,” she teased.

“Was just resting my eyes,” Emma said as she got up.

“Yeah sure, whatever you say. Now I’m going downstairs to keep Henry distracted while you try and quietly leave…if you can be quiet that is.”

“Shh I can be quiet.” She replied.

At the door of the bedroom they shared a brief kiss. “When can I see you again?” Emma asked.

“Soon, we can text and decide then.” 

Regina pulled the door open and headed downstairs with Emma standing in the doorway watching. 

She waited a moment till she could hear voices talking downstairs before slowly making her way down the stairs. As she was passing the kitchen she couldn’t help but glance towards the two people she cared about so very much. Henry had his back to her talking animatedly to his mother who was paying avid attention to him her face filled with love for her son.

When she made it through the door and it was closed silently behind her Emma couldn’t help but be proud of her own sneakiness. She was unusually happy heading to Granny's and was hopeful that the day would continue on this way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you for reading! This chapter took me a while to get my head around but I'm pleased with the way it's turned out. Hope you enjoy.

When Emma left Regina felt a rush of relief, they had successfully managed to get her out without Henry noticing. She released a breath that she wasn't even aware that she'd been holding. The rest of the morning routine went by uneventfully and she saw Henry off for school before heading to her office.

It wasn't until she was alone, sitting behind her desk, that the thoughts from the previous evening returned. It was easy to fall prey to her own mind when she was by herself. She was happy with Emma but that also gave her a deep pang of guilt because she knew she didn't deserve this and it was selfish to keep it going.

As always she was constantly looking for something to come along and ruin this good thing she had. She was reminded of words that had been spoken by her mother, the only one standing in the way of your happiness is you. The thought of Cora made her shudder especially since what she had said seemed very true right now though she would never admit to her mother being right outside of her own head.

She tried as hard as she could to concentrate on the paperwork in front of her but she just couldn't. There was a confusing muddle of emotion sitting heavily on her chest, it was hard to sort through it all.

After forgetting what she was even supposed to be looking at for the umpteenth time she placed her pen down and tried to calm herself and push back the tears that were threatening to fall. Her first appointment of the morning would be arriving at any moment and she could not be seen in such a state.

On que there was a knock at the door and though Regina didn't trust that she was fully in control of her voice she called for the person to come in. She was pleased when there was no waver or hint of her distress and so was hopeful for the rest of the day.

From there on though the morning did not go well, she had several meetings with various towns people scheduled. Her Emma situation was constantly stuck in her mind and she'd found herself so engulfed with her thoughts that occasionally she found herself not paying attention. This meant that her defences rose and she snapped back as if it was that persons fault that she wasn't listening.

When the morning meetings were all done Regina realised that she was going to have to make up for her behaviour that had really been unacceptable. However, that was something she could contemplate later for her phone had just buzzed and Emma's name flashed across the screen. Seeing the younger woman's name made her heart skip a beat and her breath catch in her throat.

It was a text that read: Going to get lunch from Granny's, you want something? I could bring it to your office and we could spend some time together x

Regina then realised she had no hope because what she felt for Emma was unlike anything she'd felt before; it was stronger than what she'd even felt for Daniel. She knew that she was going to continue seeing Emma despite the selfishness of it all.

She was quick to reply to the text and Emma was just as quick to respond that she'd be there in under an hour. She smiled, she was going to see Emma, the day was going to get better.

At the Sheriff station Emma was humming pleasantly as she headed out to get lunch from Granny's, she was so content and it felt like for the first time in a while everything was going well. She was happy to focus her full attention on Regina to show her how much she cared for her

Not long later Emma was stood at Regina's office door, a bag of Granny's in hand and knocking before entering. Upon seeing the brunette in front of her a wide smile spread across her face.

"Hi," Emma greeted making her way over to Regina's desk.

Emma's smile was contagious and Regina couldn't help but smile back, "Emma." She stood taking the blondes hand and guiding her towards the sofas so they could be more comfortable. Her eyes never left Emma, taking in every inch of the woman in front of her.

Emma handed over a salad to Regina before retrieving her own grilled cheese out of the bag. When she looked up again it was to see Regina's gaze that was unwavering.

"Regina are you ok? That's a very intense stare you've got going on right now."

The tears that had been threatening Regina all morning started back up again but this time she couldn't hold them back and they spilled down her face.

"Regina," Emma gasped abandoning her grilled cheese and wrapping her arms around the woman next to her. There was brief moment where the brunette stiffened at the contact before she lay her head against Emma's chest.

"What is it Gina? Has something happened?" Concern clearly evident in her voice she rubbed soothing circles against Regina's back.

Regina looked up into Emma's eyes hesitant at first to open up. "No…it's just…I don't deserve you…you're so good and I'm the Evil Queen. I've done so many terrible things. How can I ever deserve you?"

"You were the Evil Queen, Regina but you're not anymore. You've changed. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you." Emma held on tighter, placing gentle kisses over Regina's forehead.

"Villains don't get their happy ending, what if it's all taken away and you get hurt because of me…I couldn't…I don't think I could live with that."

"We can face whatever comes our way and we don't know what the future holds, we just have to take one day at a time." Tears were now starting to fall down Emma's cheeks, she hated seeing Regina so upset.

"I want to be with you…more than anything there's nothing you could say to make me change my mind." Emma's heart quickened as she contemplated her next words carefully, "In fact…I'm pretty sure I'm…falling in love with you."

Regina's eyes widened in surprise and it took a moment to pull her thoughts back together. "Emma," her voice came out breathy. She was overwhelmed, her voice failed her so in reply she kissed Emma hard on the lips trying to put every thought and feeling into it that she could to convey that she felt just the same.

Emma understood and kissed back just as passionately, she knew how hard it could be to state feelings out loud. She often was the one struggling with this but she also knew that Regina needed her to show how much she meant to her.

When they broke apart it was only for air, both breathing heavily and gazing into each other's eyes for a moment. Regina nestled herself closer into Emma's side holding on tightly to her saviour who held back equally as tight.

They spent quite a while just holding onto each other, Emma occasionally pressing kisses against Regina's forehead.

Eventually Regina croakily whispered, "this is rather nice but perhaps we should move."

"Yeah probably but you can't if I just keep a hold of you."

"We haven't eaten yet and Storybrooke needs its Sheriff and Mayor."

"It can manage for a while without us."

Regina raised her eyebrow, "you sure about that."

"Hmmm, well we can pretend for now."

Regina rolled her eyes trying to extract herself from Emma's arms without much luck.

"Emmmma," she whined still trying to wiggle free.

The blonde couldn't help but laugh at Regina's tone but released her grip and sat up so that the brunette could do the same.

They both went back to their food which was still untouched.

"Do you feel better now Regina?" Emma asked slightly hesitant to ask.

Regina gave a weak smile, "yes, I do actually."

"Good." Emma stated matter-of-factly.

As they ate Emma told Regina about her morning which had consisted of filling in paperwork and the usual chasing down of Pongo which was a far too regular occurrence.

When they'd finished eating and it was time for Emma to head back to the Sheriff station neither wanted to separate. They were stood in the centre of the office facing each other holding hands.

"You should come over tomorrow night after Henry has gone to bed," Regina smiled bringing one of Emma's hands up to kiss it.

"That's so long away, how about I also come see you at lunch too?" Emma said giving the most hopeful look she could muster.

"Of course you can, I'm not going to deny myself the chance to see you."

Emma's face brightened at the prospect of lunch and an evening with Regina and untangled their hands so she could place them on the others hips.

Regina rested her hands on Emma's chest and pressed their foreheads together before meeting lips in an intimate kiss.

They pulled apart as Emma's phone rang, "I think Storybrooke needs its Sheriff now."

"I guess so," Emma gave Regina a quick kiss before turning to leave, answering her phone and waving a hand goodbye.

Regina returned to her desk in a far more improved mood than earlier. Only minutes after Emma left she received a text that read: Can't wait to see you tomorrow, miss you already.

This prompted an eye roll from Regina but she did think that Emma was very sweet and replied: You just left but looking forward to seeing you too.

That is how the rest of the day went by, texting each other constantly. Despite the added distraction, Regina had a far more productive afternoon. The distraction kept her mind busy but she also found that Emma's words had truly helped her.


	5. Chapter 5

As happens on occasion, real life gets in the way of well-intended plans so as much as Emma wanted to spend her lunch with Regina work happened and it became no longer possible. For some reason that day the whole of Storybrooke wanted her help and they all seemed to expect her to be in more than one place at a time.

So here she was texting Regina to tell her that she was too busy to stop for lunch but would definitely be coming over later. She let out a sigh as she pocketed her phone, there had been a string of thefts around Storybrooke and as things like this didn't happen too often the whole place was in a panic. Not to mention her usual calls, Pongo again and Leroy who had started an argument in Granny's that had gotten out of hand. Regina was probably also dealing with the fall out of it all at the Mayor's office.

Regina knew when the text came what it would say and she couldn't help her disappointment but they still had their evening together so there was that. She too had been very busy because of the day's events and was likely to be working late. Luckily keeping busy meant that she didn't have too much time to think of Emma and their plans to see each other.

When Regina left the mayor's office it was only an hour later than usual but Henry would already be home by the time she got there. She had left him a message on his phone telling him that she was likely to be late. Now all she had to do was get through the rest of the day which would not be too hard.

Emma had other feelings about the rest of her day. When she finished at the station she longed to go straight to 108 Mifflin Street but instead she was going to her parent's apartment. She really did love them but it was just a very strange dynamic and sometimes she needed her space. Tonight was one of those nights, she'd rather be relaxing with Regina and Henry but instead she was going to have to try fully engaging with her parents.

They liked to hear about every second of her day and sometimes that was just a little too much. They just didn't understand her need for space if only just to clear her head. Standing at the door of the apartment she made sure to put on the best smile she could before entering.

Hours later it was a relief to be on the other side of the door leaving for Regina's. She felt like a teenager sneaking out at night damn she really needed to find her own place.

Minutes later she was pushing open the door to the manor, they'd decided it was best if Regina just left the door unlocked so she could come in as quiet as possible so as not to alert Henry to her presence. Emma slipped through the door, only opening it enough to fit herself through the gap and shut it behind her.

She then made her way towards the only light source in the living room. There she found Regina in silk pyjamas sat with her feet tucked up under her and a book in hand. She couldn't help but stand staring in the door way.

"Are you going to stand there all night Emma or are you actually going to join me?"

Emma could only stutter but managed to come to her senses enough to move. She kicked her shoes off and settled herself on the couch and Regina moved in closer so that she was lying against her. Emma wrapped her arms around the brunette who snuggled in.

For a moment they were caught up gazing into the others eye's until slowly their lips met in a soft kiss. When they pulled apart they were each smiling looking forward to being able to be together.

Henry had not gone to sleep as Regina had thought, he got ready for bed and dived under the covers but he was listening intently. He had a feeling that his mother was waiting for something or someone as she had been glancing towards the clock far more than usual and had been especially keen on him going to bed. Tonight he was going to fully confirm his suspicions.

So he lay awake listening and it wasn't long before he heard the unmistakable sound of Emma's car. At this point he crept out from under the covers and edged towards the window where he pushed aside the curtain enough to peak outside. Sure enough Emma was walking down the path towards the mansion.

He made his way slowly towards his door, he had to be as quiet as possible. Regina had this strange ability to hear whenever he was out of bed no matter how quiet he tried to be. Luckily he had also successfully managed to get around that problem with practice over the years.

When he reached the stairs it was to see Emma walking towards the living room, this was the tricky bit where he needed to be extra quiet. It was one thing sneaking around when his mother was asleep but for her to be awake in the living room and in the company of his other mother, was a whole other thing. Tentatively he stepped down one stair at a time listening hard as he did.

In the living room Emma and Regina were talking in low voices still cuddled into one another, only having attention for the other.

There was the slightest of creak on the stairs and Henry held his breath. Pausing. Hoping against hope that he wasn't heard but nothing happened so he released his breath and continued.

Emma was kissing Regina at every chance she got. Regina was an addiction. Her presence. Her smell. Her taste. Her everything. She just couldn't get enough.

Henry smirked as he reached the bottom of the stairs pleased with himself but then realised that he hadn't thought this through completely. He quickly decided that he would take a peak in the living room to confirm his suspicions and then make his way back upstairs. In the morning he could confront them because Emma was very likely to end up staying the night and he would be able to surprise them.

They were in the midst of a deep kiss when Regina noticed movement out the corner of her eye and pulled away quickly as if she'd been burned. Emma, who was startled at first turned to look where Regina was looking and saw why the sudden movement.

"Henry!" Emma exclaimed.

At that moment Henry looked like a deer caught in headlights, this was definitely not what he had intended, all he could do was stand and stutter.

There was a very awkward pause where no one knew what to say but Henry managed to choke out, "I…I just wanted to see if I was right."

Emma and Regina exchanged a look, "Right about what kid?"

"Well…I."

Emma smiled gently, "come here" she said "I think we all need to talk."

Regina watched as Henry made his way across and sat on the couch next to her. Her mind was reeling and as fast as she usually was to regain composure right now it was not happening. Sheer panic was filling her chest there was no way she wanted anyone to know yet, even if it was just Henry. She wasn't ready.

Henry was looking at Regina, evidently concerned about his mother so Emma distracted him by saying, "how long were you there for?"

"Not long…I did see…but I already knew." Henry was obviously uncomfortable with the situation.

"Wait, you knew?" Emma replied. At this Regina also looked at Henry surprise evident on her face.

"Well…you guys were a bit obvious. I mean did you really think I wouldn't notice Ma leaving the other morning?"

Emma just stared back mouth slightly open not knowing what to say and next to her Regina was just as quiet, still processing everything.

"I've known for a while now actually. The way you both look at each other and Emma spending the night here, you guys never tricked me. I knew."

"Were we really that obvious?" Emma asked cringing internally. Her concern for Regina was growing because of the continued silence and so she reached out to rest her hand on her shoulder.

She looked towards Emma and sighed then turned to Henry and said, "we would have told you eventually when we were ready."

"I know" Henry replied, "I just wanted to confirm…I really shouldn't have, I'm sorry."

"Henry, no it's fine." Emma said.

"Well I'm really happy for you both anyway, you make each other happy and that's all I care about really."

Regina couldn't stop the flow of tears that overwhelmed her at her son's words, one of her worries had been Henry's reaction. All she really needed had been confirmation that this was right and his support meant a lot to her.

When he saw his mom crying he leaned over and hugged her tightly "Mom, I didn't want to make you cry! Are you ok?"

She wrapped her arms around her son and smiled through the tears, "I'm fine Henry, just glad you're ok with us."

"Of course I am; It's great that you're happy together."

There was a brief pause where Regina soaked up the moment but it was late, even for a weekend, "Henry, I think it's time for you to be in bed now. We can talk more about this in the morning."

Both of them accompanied Henry upstairs to make sure he actually went to bed this time and said their goodnights.

Out in the hallway Regina took Emma's hand in her own and said "I didn't think that this was how tonight was going to go."

Emma smiled, "no, neither did I."

Regina pulled Emma in the direction of her bedroom and when they were inside with the door closed she said, "can we just talk for a while?"

"Of course."

Regina smiled and walked over to her bed climbing under the covers and then patted the spot next to her.

Emma getting the hint pulled off her jeans and climbed in next to her.

They cuddled for a little while before Regina finally said, "I don't know how I feel about Henry knowing."

Emma squeezed Regina trying to comfort her, "it's sooner than we would like but we can work through this."

"Yes, I think we can." Though Regina couldn't help but feel conflicted, had they been obvious? Did anyone else know? The fact that Henry accepted them was encouraging but she had hoped that they had more time to just be together.

The rest of the night they spent curled up together just talking and being with each other till eventually they drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters for today!  As always thank you to everyone whose reading, it means a lot. x

Regina was the first to wake, she was still wrapped in Emma's arms the way they had been when they'd fallen asleep. She was just enjoying the nice quiet moment when Emma's phone started ringing loudly. From beside her Emma groaned and untangled herself from Regina and the bedsheets.

The brunette watched in amusement as Emma searched for her phone amongst her abandoned clothes. She certainly wasn't a morning person but Regina found that endearing.

Finally, Emma answered but when she did the colour drained from her face and Regina sat up startled.

"Mom, no I'm fine."

Regina then understood and looked towards the clock on her bedside table, it was a little after 8. They had slept in and the Charming's were probably worried when they woke up to no Emma. Panic was evident on Emma's face.

"I got a text from…erm…Ruby and she wanted me to go see her and I ended up staying the night…"

"No honestly, I'm fine."

"No I don't know when I'll be back, I'll let you know"

"Ok. Bye."

As soon as Emma hung up she rang Ruby to warn her that Snow might check in. Of course Ruby was really curious to where she was and who she was with but Emma shut her down. They were friends though so Ruby agreed to lie to snow if she called.

When that was settled Emma looked back up at Regina and sighed, "I so need a place of my own."

Emma crawled back into bed pulling Regina down next to her.

"You know we probably should be getting up now." Regina smiled though she was fully allowing Emma to pull her closer.

"Hmmm…this is nice though."

"You know now that we don't have to rush we could take that shower you wanted the other day," Regina's said eyes on Emma's lips making it further evident what she wanted.

Emma raised an eyebrow, "really? Well now you put it that way."

Emma was a lot quicker getting up after that and soon they were wrapped up in each other kissing passionately with hot water beating down on their skin. At this point in their relationship they knew every curve of the others body and knew exactly how and where to touch to give the most pleasure. They fit together as though they were two halves to a whole and moved together instinctively.

When they were both finally washed and dressed it was far later than Regina would normally be up, she would usually have already had breakfast and be on with her day. When they got downstairs Henry was sitting at the dining table eating a bowl of cereal with a comic spread out in front of him.

"Morning Moms," he smiled brightly especially so at the sight of Emma still being there.

They both said their good mornings, Emma strolling over to see what comic he was reading whilst Regina headed towards the kitchen.

"Pancakes anyone?" she asked and received two very enthusiastic replies.

Emma sat with Henry looking at his comics whilst Regina busied herself making breakfast for them all. It did not take too long for the pancakes to be ready.

Throughout breakfast the topic of the previous evening did not come up though they all knew that it must at some point but for now that could be later. They were enjoying spending time together, Regina and Emma exchanging the occasional glances and smiles.

When they had all eaten their fill Regina cleared the table with some help from Emma while Henry ran to watch some TV.

Regina washed the dishes or was trying to anyway because whilst Emma was supposed to be drying the blonde seemed to have very different ideas. She came up behind Regina wrapping her arms around her waist placing kisses along her neck before saying, "this is really nice you know."

Regina murmured her agreement, turning around in Emma's arms and placing her arms around the blonde's neck. She couldn't resist the blondes touches even when they were supposed to be cleaning up after breakfast.

Emma continued on with, "now Henry knows and we don't have to hide from him."

Regina smiled in response resting her forehead against Emma's, she had doubts niggling in the back of her mind about anyone else finding out. If they wanted this to continue then people would eventually have to find out but she did not want to reveal her worries, at least not for now when they were having such a nice morning.

When the dishes were done and dried both women made their way to the living room where Henry was. Though hesitant at first since so far they had only shown limited affection in front of their son they curled up together on the couch. Regina nestled against Emma, both holding onto each other. There was no point in hiding it now.

This is when the topic that they had so far avoided came up, Henry had turned around and was smiling at his mother's and said, "I'm really glad that you're together and not hiding it from me anymore."

"Me too kid" Emma replied.

"So…does this mean that we can all live together now?" Henry asked hopefully.

Emma spluttered, "whoa, no…not right now anyway." A blush crept up her cheeks at the reveal that she had thought that one day they would all live together.

"What Emma means is that we just want to see how this goes, if it works out then _maybe_ we can talk about it but for now, don't get your hopes up."

Henry was smart so he understood what they were saying but he also couldn't help but have hope. Anyway he was fairly sure that his mothers were very much in love whether they saw it themselves yet or not.

"Ok," he smiled knowingly whilst turning back to watch TV.

They all lapsed into a comfortable silence with Henry concentration on his show, Emma and Regina snuggled together enjoying the time they had all together. With life being the way it was they had all learnt to make the most of these quiet moments of peace.

This was how the rest of the day passed by, before they knew it evening had arrived and Emma really didn't want to go back to her parents. Regina didn't want her to go either so even though they both knew it was completely unwise and would raise suspicions, Emma stayed.

They were far too wrapped up in their little family of three to think of anything else. So wrapped up that Emma stayed the entire weekend till Monday morning, she had to lie to her Mom again and tell her that her and Ruby were having a girl's weekend in but she didn't even care at this point.


	7. Chapter 7

The spell of their lovely weekend was broken quite quickly on Monday morning. Emma first realised that something was off when she went into Granny’s for hot chocolate and could feel eyes following her. Storybrookes residence had never been ones for subtlety so it was painfully obvious. As the saviour Emma was used to receiving attention as it happened often but this was different and she couldn’t put a finger on why.

Ruby greeted her as she reached the counter, she placed her order before deciding to ask why everyone seemed to be more interested in her than usual. As one of the towns lead gossipers Ruby nearly always knew what was happening first.

“Have I got a sign on my back today or something? Why’s everyone staring?”

“No clue”

“Ruby,” Emma raised her eyebrows.

“Honest, maybe you’re just exceptionally good looking this morning.”

Emma rolled her eyes, it was so obvious that Ruby was hiding something. For now, she would let it slide, her drink was ready and she had to get to the Sheriff’s station so she bade Ruby farewell and left. That was only the beginning of what would turn out to be a very eventful day.

It wasn’t very long before she figured out why she had been receiving a lot more attention than usual, in fact it was as soon as she had gotten to the station. The answer came in the form of a very drunk Leroy. He had been brought in by David to sober up in a cell and was definitely not discreet about shouting across the room as soon as he realised Emma was there.

“So you and the Mayor getting it on or what?” his voice slurred as he leant against the bars of the cell to get a better view of the approaching Sherriff.

Emma froze hoping that she had just misheard but the disaster just kept on coming.

“Your cars been round there a lot, all weekend I heard. Everyone’s talking about it, Snow said she thought you were with Ruby but someone saw you go to the Mayors late Friday…’

She tuned out after that. Panic was flooding into her. She needed to warn Regina.

The problem with that however was that Regina did not seem to want to answer her phone so she was forced to leave several voicemails and text messages. She had thought of going over to the Mayor’s office but that plan was cut short as the phone rang and it was a call out. Great Emma thought perfect timing.

It was a little later when Regina found out, she had left her phone on silent and forgotten so she didn’t see Emma’s messages. If she had it would have prepared her for the unexpected arrival of Snow around mid-morning, who burst into her office unannounced.

Regina barely had time to glower up at her for the intrusion before the woman was rambling away.

“I’ve heard some crazy things around town today and Ruby said something very odd about Emma which I can hardly believe so I came here for answers!” Snow barely even took a breath as she went on.

At the mention of Emma, Regina felt her heart sink but tried to hide the influx of emotions that were soaring through her. Raising her eyebrows at Snow she said, “what on earth are you are you rambling about.”

“Oh as if you don’t know!”

“My dear Snow I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about.”

At that Snow was a bit taken aback but barrelled on anyway, “people have been saying that Emma’s bug was outside of your house all weekend even though she told me she was at Ruby’s. I couldn’t believe it but then I mentioned it to Ruby and she admitted that Emma called asking her to cover for her. She was with you wasn’t she Regina!”

Regina paled, her mind spinning out into overdrive. She could feel a panic attack coming. Her words were momentarily lost as Snow finished speaking, looking angrily and expectantly back at her. All she knew was that Snow needed to leave now because it was becoming increasingly difficult to control herself.

“Get out.” Her voice was low and deadly as a mixture of emotions scrambled inside her, rage, fear, sadness. Snow did not move but stood there with the expression of someone who was just slapped across the face, which frustrated Regina more. So she got out from behind her desk and moved towards Snow to show how much she was not to be messed with right now. “Now, it is none of your business what I do in my spare time so leave!”

“Fine!” Snow exclaimed but just before she turned to leave she spoke again, “but you better not be planning to hurt Emma because I will find out.”

Then she was gone, the door slamming shut behind her.

Regina felt all the rage leave her at Snows exit, leaving her feeling like a balloon had just deflated inside her. A sob escaped from her and her breathing was rapidly getting harder to control. She felt dizzy with everything that was spinning round inside her so took a moment standing still in the centre of the office clinging onto her own arms.

After a moment she went back to her desk to grab her phone out of her bag and saw the messages from Emma. Staring down at her phone she couldn’t bring herself to read the texts or listen to the voicemails so she hit delete all and they were gone.

She got up and walked over to one of the couches where she sunk down. Just the other day her and Emma had spent time here and it was wonderful but now everyone knew. Regina didn’t know how to handle that, she expected that everyone would react the same as Snow. 

So she did what she always did, what she always had to do to avoid the hurt that came with pain. She pulled up the walls that Emma had been knocking down, her face hardened with the resolve of her decision. It was all a delusion, the happiness she had felt, a delusion that was now crumbling around her.


	8. Chapter 8

Emma had been trying to call Regina all day and was not getting through, she was really worried and wanted to go see her and make sure she was ok. The only problem was that since she’d had the weekend off she was now spending a lot of time catching up on her work and when she wasn’t busy with that she would get a call out.

It wasn’t till much later that she got the chance but there was only half an hour till Regina would be leaving her office for the day. Emma was very quick to jump in her car before there could be any more call outs that interrupted her. She couldn’t help the worry that was bubbling up inside her, she was sure Regina had heard the towns newest gossip and the fact that she wasn’t answering her calls was sending alarm bells ringing. Lately they had been texting a lot and so to hear nothing all day was scaring Emma.

She wasted no time in barrelling into the office, “Gina, are you ok? I haven’t heard from you; do you know about…” Her voice trailed off. The cold, hard stare that she was receiving had unnerved her, it was reminiscence of back when she had first come to town.

“Yes Miss Swan, I’m well aware of what is being said. It is however curtesy to knock before entering or did you leave your common sense back at the Sheriff’s Station.”

Emma just stared back dumbfounded, it took her a moment to process what was happening. “Regina…please don’t do this.” Her lip trembled as she spoke and her face fell into a frown.

“Do what, nothing was ever official. You said we could try. We did and it didn’t work out.” 

Her voice was hard and stoic but there was a hint of emotion behind her eyes that Emma picked on instantly. She couldn’t help but feel a deep pang of hurt in her chest despite knowing why Regina was doing this, she was scared and closing herself off.

“It was working, we had such a good weekend with Henry. What about Henry? He was so happy to see us together. Please Regina.”

“We told him not to get his hopes up. Anyway it was made abundantly clear how delusional we were to think this would ever work when your mother came barging in earlier to confront me.”

Emma just stood with her mouth agape. She’d spent so much time worrying about how Regina was that she’d forgotten her parents and how they might react.

“I’m done with this conversation. Goodbye Miss Swan.”

Emma closed her mouth and sighed this wasn’t going to work tonight but maybe given a bit of time. So with an earnest, determined look in her eye she said, “I’m not giving up on you, what we have is good and I will fight for it even if you won’t.”

“I said goodbye Miss Swan,” impatience coated her tone.

When Emma left Regina couldn’t hold herself back, the door had barely closed when tears stared streaming down her face. She pulled her chair back from the desk and doubled over crying.

She had let Emma pull down so many of her walls that she wasn’t as used to building them up with her. They had been crumbling the entire conversation and if Emma hadn’t left when she did then she would have surely cracked.

One of the many reasons Regina had told herself she was doing this was that it would save Emma from the reputation of being associated with dating the Evil Queen. No one would accept them, it was far better this way. Henry would be hurt but he would understand eventually, she was doing what was best for Emma and one day Emma would also realise this.

For now, she needed to get herself together, it was time to leave and she needed to be home for Henry. She couldn’t bring herself to move, the tears were still flowing and everything hurt. She actually dreaded seeing Henry, just because he would see right through any façade she put up. 

He was home not long after her and his obvious cautiousness was a sign that he had heard. She needed to handle this delicately so she sat him down.

“Henry,” she began. “I know you really wanted it to work out between me and Emma but it’s not happening now.” Her facial expressions were stiff as she tried not to reveal how much it hurt.

Henry’s face fell a little but he was ever the optimist, a trait he received from the Charming’s no doubt. “Mom, you can’t just give up because of what everyone else is saying.”

“It was bound to happen eventually; this way is better, sooner rather than later.”

“No, Mom. It will work out; I know it will you are both meant to be together.” 

Regina wished she could have the never wavering faith that Henry had but she didn’t. “Henry, please. It’s not going to happen.” Her voice cracked.

“You might not believe it but I do and I have enough belief for the both of us.”

“Henry,” she said her voice full of affection and care for her son. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug that he returned.

When Emma left Regina’s office she didn’t know what to do, she certainly didn’t want to go back to work or see her parents. What she did want to do however was confront Ruby.

As soon as she stepped into the diner Emma zeroed in on Ruby who was chatting at the counter but had looked up as the blonde entered. The drop in her expression was enough to tell Emma that Ruby was well aware of why she was stopping by.

All she had to do was stare pointedly at the brunette before she was gestured to come talk out of the way. Once out of view of the rest of the diner Ruby, who was looking very uncomfortable, started rambling, “I’m so sorry, but Snow cornered me earlier after she heard people talking and the look she was giving me well I couldn’t just lie so it all slipped out.” She hadn’t taken a breath the whole time she was talking.

Emma glared back, “you didn’t have to lie! You could have just not told her anything and kept your mouth shut.” She was fuming, taking all her rage out on Ruby.

Ruby looked like a kicked puppy but the pang of guilt that Emma had felt for snapping was gone instantly at the brunettes next words. “She would have worked it out anyway, I mean everyone was talking about it.”

Anger pooled inside of her and her eyes flashed threateningly, “you do realise that Snow went to confront Regina in her office this afternoon and now she won’t talk to me.”

Wide eyed silence followed so Emma continued on, “if you had just kept your mouth shut then I could have handled this.”

Guilt was evident on Ruby’s face, “I didn’t mean…I didn’t think that she would do that.”

Emma huffed, “well now I have to go deal with my parents.” With that she turned and stomped out the diner, her anger evident in each step.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had intended to update once a week but that went out the window last week so apologies but there will be another chapter out real soon. Thanks as always, enjoy.

Upon entering the apartment Emma slammed the door shut behind her ensuring that she would have her parent’s attention.  Sure enough both of their surprised faces showed seconds later.

She was fuming and was not hiding it.  “What did you think you were doing when you went to Regina’s office?”

Snow just stood there, her mouth opening and closing like she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite get the words out.  Charming was stood stock still, wide eyed next to his wife.

“You should have come to me!” Emma seethed, “what on earth did you think you would get out of barging into her office huh?”

“I was concerned for you,” she replied.  “You don’t know Regina like I do.”

“I think I know her a hell of a lot better actually.”

Snow scoffed in disbelief but before she could get another sound out Emma continued speaking.

“You do realise we’ve been seeing each other for a while now, this isn’t some new thing, I knew what I was getting into.”

“But Emma…”  Snow began before being cut off.

“Yes, in your land she was the Evil Queen but she’s changed now, you didn’t even give her a chance this morning.  You just barged in and threw out all of your assumptions at her.”

“I... I was just looking out for you.”

“I can look out for myself thanks…I’ve been doing that fine my whole life.”  The moment the words left her mouth she regretted them.  Obvious hurt spread across her parents faces but that didn’t change anything that had happened. 

“Well now you’ve ruined the one good thing I had going, thanks for that, she won’t talk to me now.”

“Perhaps that’s for the best, it couldn’t have actually worked out really.”

Emma closed her eyes taking a deep breath in and out, trying to calm herself, it would do no good if this turned into a shouting match.  Except perhaps fuel more rumours for the people of Storybrooke to spread.  If anyone over heard they’d probably find a way to twist it to blame Regina and say that she was turning their saviour against them, which was one of the many assumptions she had heard today.

The look on Emma’s face when she opened her eye’s was one of fierce determination, she was not going to let her mother continue on like this.

“I don’t care what either of you or the rest of the town think because I’m still going to fight for her.”

Charming, who up till that point had been wordlessly staring from his wife to his daughter finally spoke up, “Emma, don’t speak to your mother like that, she’s just trying to help.”

“Except I’m an adult so I think I can say what I want especially when you’ve hurt someone I love.”  It took a moment for everyone to register what Emma had just spoke out loud, even Emma herself didn’t realise the significance till she saw the open mouth gawping over her parents.

“You…you love her,” Snow stammered out.

There was no going back now.  “Yes,” she stated firmly, eyeing them both daring them to challenge her.  Neither did and that was where their conversation ended.

The rest of the evening in the Charming household was stiff and awkward, Emma kept mostly upstairs to her room.  She lay back on her bed and wished she could rewind back to the perfect weekend she’d had.  Now she could barely believe that only that morning she had awoke wrapped up in Regina’s arms.  Today had been…long.

She reached over for her phone that was resting on her bed side table, there were no new messages from Regina.  There were however several apologetic texts from Ruby and some frantic texts from Henry asking what had happened between his two mothers.

Though she knew that she was unlikely to receive a response she decided that she would text Regina anyway.  _Hope you’re ok, miss you. E. x_

At 108 Mifflin Street Regina was similarly lying back on her bed staring at her phone reading the message from Emma over and over.  There was a lot going on in her head and she was still trying to process the day’s events.

Henry had taken the news better than she could have hoped but that was the thing.  Hope, Henry had a lot of that and he was so sure that it would all work out in the end.  Regina often wished she could have that constant hope inside her too but that’s just not how she worked.

She really missed Emma too.  Missed how if she was here their bodies would snuggly fit together, Emma’s arms around her.  She missed the way she would feel so safe around her and hell she just missed the blondes very presence.

Just thinking of the younger woman was painful yet she couldn’t stop and god knows she’d tried.  She had tried to squash down her feelings for the blonde as soon as they had arisen inside her, back when they were fighting and to all pretences hated each other.  It hadn’t worked then and it wasn’t going to work now.  Things between them were far more complex than just love and hate, they’d fallen into a murky grey area that day at her apple tree.   The first time they’d slept together…well that was not quite the right word for what they had done that day.

Regina shook her head as if to dislodge her thoughts, this state of contemplation that she had fallen into was certainly not helping.  A sob rose from deep within her and escaped her mouth, she curled in a ball on her side and let the further sobs engulf her entirely.  Oh she missed Emma, she missed her so much but it was better for everyone this way, right?


	10. Chapter 10

When the sun rose and peaked through the blinds of Regina’s bedroom it found her curled in a similar fashion to the night before.  She had not really slept, when she had her it was fitful and disturbed.

Deciding that no more sleep was going to come to her she got up and went through the motions of starting out her day.  When Henry came downstairs she had breakfast prepared and waiting, she smiled and went about as if everything was ok despite the opposite being true.

Henry, ever the observer knew what was wrong but he played along with her game knowing that nothing good would come from calling her out.  Not yet anyway, he would talk to Emma later though because this was wrong, his mother’s needed to be together.  They needed each other, the happiness he had sensed between them lately was reason enough.

When Henry was safely off to school Regina went straight to her office, sometimes she would go to Granny’s first but not today.  She was determined to avoid Storybrooke’s intense population for a little bit longer.

Emma, unfortunately did not have the choice to avoid anyone, patrolling the streets put her in direct contact with everyone.  Whispers followed her but she ignored them all, she only cared what one person thought and that was Regina.  She understood in a way, why Regina was closing herself off, it didn’t mean that she was happy with it. 

This whole thing was playing into Regina’s insecurities, she was a very private person, her emotions were hidden unless she chose to reveal them.  With this she had no choice or time to reveal herself, she was afraid of being hurt or hurting those she loved and what she felt was inevitable rejection when it all became public knowledge.

Of course none of these things were true but of all people Emma understood that it could be hard to see that.  What was not helping was her mother and other residents of Storybrooke passing judgement based on who Regina _had_ been.  They were blinded by that, but Emma knew who she was _now_ and that was the thing that mattered the most to her.

Everyone seemed to believe that they had a right to an opinion on their saviour’s private life, one of those opinions was that Regina was taking advantage of her.  No one seemed to believe that either of them could be in love and that was where a brunt of the problem lay.  They didn’t believe that the former Evil Queen could love, despite the love she had shown Henry.

Emma found everything frustrating as hell, especially when her train of thought was interrupted by yet another person shouting inappropriate comments, “so you doing the Mayor then?”  She just rolled her eyes, seeing their sheriff confronting residents about this would do more harm than good, she did need a plan to stop it though.

She had texted Regina throughout the day, receiving no reply but had not really expected one either.  She just felt that it was important to make sure that Regina knew that she was thinking of her.

It was around when Henry was leaving school that she received a text from him, there was momentary pang of disappointment when it was not Regina’s name that appeared on the screen.  He was asking to see her and she quickly accepted, they agreed to meet at Granny’s.

Minutes later Emma was pulling up to the diner.  She got out of her car and greeted Henry who was waiting for her outside.  As soon as they were inside and had ordered two hot chocolates with cinnamon, he launched into what it was he wanted to talk to her about and really she should have known.

“So Ma, I heard about you and Mom and I think this whole thing is a huge mistake, you guys need to be together.”

“I know kid,” she sounded defeated almost.

Henry had expected to have to go on into a whole tirade before she accepted, he had even planned out exactly what he would say should certain topics arise.  So when she instantly agreed he was completely thrown off.

“Wait, so you’re telling me that this wasn’t a mutual decision.”

“No it wasn’t,” Emma sighed.  She looked at Henry thoughtfully, she could see his mind whirring and probably a new operation something or other forming in his head.  “Your mom just needs time for herself to figure all this out.”  Though she wasn’t entirely convinced by her own words and even then was planning to try see her again.

Henry’s forehead creased and lips pursed, “you are going to fight for her though, aren’t you?  Some kids at school were saying mean things but I know they aren’t true and I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”

Emma smiled, “I’ll go try and talk to her again ok? But I’m not promising anything, her frame of mind isn’t exactly sound right now.”

At this point Ruby set their drink in front of them a slight awkward hesitation from her had Emma shooting a warning glance.  She was not going to go into this whilst Henry was there and getting the hint she walked away having said nothing.

The obvious puzzlement that crossed Henry’s face had Emma saying, “don’t ask, just a friendly disagreement.”

For now, he decided to leave it be, there were more important things that needed to be talked about such as what Emma was going to say to his mom.

An hour later they were pulling up in front of the mayoral mansion.  For the majority of that passed hour Henry had schooled her on the ways she could talk to Regina, for the most part she just went along with his 11-year-old chatter.

Henry ran off ahead of her leaving the door wide open and Emma unsure of whether she should go in or not.  Hesitating, she moved forwards slowly, when she reached the doorway she stuck her head in and looked around, there was no one there.  Damn Henry running off like that.  What was she going to do now?

At that moment Regina herself appeared from the living room having not heard the door shut after Henry.  Caught off guard she couldn’t hide her surprise at seeing Emma standing in her door way, it took a moment to school her expression into indifference.

“Hi,” Emma said uncertainly.

There was an awkward pause of silence where they both just stared at each other neither really wanting to speak until Regina broke it.

“What are you doing here, Miss Swan?” her tone was almost weary.

“Well, we really need to talk,” Emma looked hopeful towards Regina.

“I made myself clear yesterday.”

“Yes, but Regina we _love_ each other.  I _know_ we do.  We can’t throw that all away over this, I don’t care what anyone thinks except _you_ ”

“I…” her whole posture softened and the mask that she’d been trying to keep in place vanished entirely.  Emma just always had that effect on her, the blonde knew exactly what to say that left her feeling blown away.

Emma inched forward till she was directly in front of the brunette, her eyes pleading for something, anything that would let her know that they were ok.

“I can’t…I need some time,” her voice cracked and eyes swam with tears.  She looked away from Emma not wanting to see her rejection.

Brief hurt did cross Emma expression but this was progress and any progress was better than nothing.  “Ok,” she said softly before turning to leave, shutting the door behind her.

Regina just stood staring at the door where Emma had just been, conflicting emotions stirring inside her.

On the other side, Emma had slumped against the now shut door and sighed, going into this they had known it wouldn’t be easy.  They were both far too complex for anything to ever be easy, there was a lot of things in their pasts that still effected them now, they needed to work through it all.  They had a future together though, Emma was sure of it, this rough patch would end and they would get through it stronger than ever.


	11. Chapter 11

Snow found herself struggling to comprehend everything that had happened over the last couple of days.  As a result of said days Emma was not speaking to her unless it was unavoidable.  She’d spent a lot of time going over everything in her head to try gleam a better understanding.

The one thing that she was struggling to accept beyond all else was that her daughter could love her former nemesis.  How did that even happen?  Her first thought was that Emma was being played and this had been her theory from the start, she could barely entertain the idea that Regina was capable of love.  These thoughts sent her blood boiling, she saw no other outcome but Emma ending up hurt if things were allowed to play on between them.

One thing she now realised was that she had probably went about things in the wrong way when she had found out.  Perhaps she should have gone to see Emma first but it all happened in the heat of the moment. 

Then there was the fact that Regina had been trying to do good lately but she’d given the woman so many chances previously that she didn’t know what to think now.  What she really wanted to do was to talk to Regina and find out her intentions and then she could know exactly where they all stood.  This would not go down well with Emma at all and she wouldn’t know if Regina was even telling the truth.

She let out a long sigh, this was a complicated matter and it hadn’t even entered her mind yet that she might have to accept them just being together.

His wife’s sigh caught his attention and so Charming got up from his position on the couch to sit by her at the table.  “Hey,” he said.  “You thinking about Emma and Regina again?” he placed a comforting hand on her thigh.

“What are we going to do about them?” her face creased with worry.

“What can we do?” he didn’t like it but was also weary of butting in on Emma’s choices.

“Well…” She spoke cautiously, “I know Emma won’t like this…but I was thinking that we should go talk to Regina.”

“I’ll support you with whatever you think is best.”  Even if it did cause a lot of arguments later down the road he thought.

That did not help her very much in whether this was the right decision or not but her husband’s support was always appreciated.  After a brief pause for thought she decided that action was better than sitting around wondering and so leapt up to get ready to leave.

Ruby was having a walk when she noticed Snow and Charming, now she couldn’t be certain but it did look like they were heading towards Regina’s manor.  She paused briefly to consider her options, she could pretend that she hadn’t seen them and continue on, the resulting fallout be damned.  Or she could try get back into Emma’s good books and text her a warning, it was an easy decision really.  She quickly typed out and sent her text to Emma and continued on her walk.

When Emma received Ruby’s text she was sitting at her desk at work, when the name popped up she very nearly ignored it but then curiosity got the better of her and she was glad that it did.

_Just seen Snow &Charming headed towards Regina’s, could be nothing but thought you should know._

Emma groaned, this could not be good.  When were her parents going to learn to not meddle in her business when it had nothing to do with them.  She quickly got up to leave, hoping that she could minimise any damage that they might do.  She’d not spoken to Regina for a couple days, trying to give her some time and space but any progress made could be very quickly undone by her parents.

As Emma was leaving the Sheriff’s station her parents were pulling up outside the manor and Snow was on a mission as she sped down the path leaving Charming behind.  By the time he caught up Snow had already hammered on the door.

Regina was in her office; she’d decided to work from home today as there were no Mayoral duties that required her to meet with anyone.  She was not expecting anyone so the knock at her door was surprising, some tiny bit of her hoped that it would be Emma.

Her lip curled at the sight of Snow and Charming, “what do you two want?” she could barely control the defensiveness in her voice.

“We just want to talk.”  The look she received form Regina clearly showed what she thought of Snows wanting to talk.

Charming quickly added, “about your intentions with our daughter.”  The words had barely left his mouth than both of them realised it had been the very wrong thing to say.

Fury was all she felt, how dare they.  “ _My_ intentions, what is that supposed to mean?”

Being addressed in such tone had Snow replying in equal amounts of anger, “well, as the _Evil Queen_ you hurt a lot of people.  We just needed to make sure Emma isn’t going to become one of them, but you certainly aren’t helping your case with your tone.”

Whatever Snow was expecting it was not the look of hurt that evidently showed on Regina’s face even if it had only been there a moment before her mask slid back into place.

“It’s a good thing then that you have nothing to worry about, the Evil Queen won’t touch your precious daughter.”  She then went to close the door in their faces but Snow spoke again and made her stop in her tracks.

“Do you love her?”

Regina turned back to face Snow, “how is that any of your business?” she snarled out.

“You know what Regina? I might have tried to give you another chance but the way you’re acting doesn’t make it look like you deserve one.”

“Who says I want another chance from _you_ anyway?” she was fuming, how dare Snow come to her house only to throw her past against her.

“ _Fine,_ don’t have another chance, see if I care,” the words coming now were mostly thrown in anger that she would regret later.  “If you can’t change then Henry shouldn’t be living with you!”

Now _that_ caught her off guard, “don’t you _dare_ bring my son into this,” she growled.  Her temper was now reaching levels that she would not be able to control, walking away would be the better option but Snow really knew how to get under her skin.

“For his safety I will.”

Even Charming was balking at the turn the conversation had taken, this was dangerous territory.  Even if Regina was no longer the Evil Queen she still had magic and temper that could flatten the town when stirred.

“His safety? I am his _mother!”_ Magic stirred at her finger tips and it was taking all of her effort not to fire it at Snow, send her flying down the path.

That was the moment when Emma’s bug made its appearance tearing down the street, probably breaking a few speeding laws as she went but as the Sherriff who was going to stop her?

Beyond tired of this conversation, Regina shot glares towards the Charming’s and turned back into the manor, slamming the door behind her.  As soon as she was alone all the anger dissipated from her body and she was left with a hollow feeling.  Her feet took her to the couch in the living room, where she sat trying to process everything that had just happened. 

She had been so close to letting Emma back in but now what?  Snow might never come to terms with it and even if Emma didn’t care what anyone else thought, it would not be easy on her to have her parents disapproving them.  Not when she had spent so long without them in the first place.

Never mind the fact that it was she in the first place that had cast the curse that was the reason for Emma spending her childhood alone.  This was a conversation they had already, Regina didn’t feel guilt, but she did feel responsible.  Emma had disregarded this and said that it wasn’t all her, that her parents had chosen to send their new born away in a wardrobe.  She’d forgiven them all.

Her mind was wandering with the confliction of thoughts that had been dogging her waking hours.  Tears were flowing freely now, her body shook.  Snow’s words stung and swam in her mind, tormenting her.  Was this what everyone thought?  She was trying so hard to change, she’d thought the only approval that she needed was from Emma and Henry but now she wasn’t so sure.

Most of that conversation could have been avoided had she not acted so defensive.  _Do you love her?_  Yes! Yes, she loved Emma Swan with every fibre of her being, her heart soared with the love she had for the woman.  Why couldn’t she have just said that? Why did she have to as always ruin things with her own stubbornness?

Outside Emma was furiously shouting at her parents; she couldn’t fathom why they thought that this was a good plan.  After a brief argument that went somewhat like the last one, she shouted at them to not dare follow her inside and with that she pulled the door open intending to fix this mess right there and then.


	12. Chapter 12

Emma paused after walking a little way inside to see if she could hear anything.  Muffled sobs came from the living room and she made a beeline straight for it.  The sight that greeted her broke her heart, seeing the woman she loved curled up into herself whilst shaking with the sobs that wracked her body, it was devastating.  She went to her, the past few days be damned, Regina needed comfort.

She was only dimly aware of Emma being nearby and when Regina found strong arms wrapping around her she gave into them fully, not having the strength to push away.  She didn’t really want to anyway, all she wanted was Emma.  She’d missed her so much, so very much.  Her touch, her smell, her voice, everything about her.  Most of all she felt safe in Emma’s arms, safer than she had ever felt in her life.

Neither knew exactly how long they sat like that for, Emma waited patiently for Regina’s breathing to calm and her sobs to still.  She rubbed soothing circles over her back and then brushed hair out of her tear soaked face.

When she spoke she kept her voice calm and level, “hey, I don’t want to push you too much but we really need to talk things out.”

Regina looked up at Emma, her body threatened another bout of uncontrollable sobs but she contained them for now and nodded.  They really did need to have a proper talk.

“Wait a second,” Regina sat up and headed to the kitchen, returning minutes later with a hot chocolate with cinnamon for Emma and coffee for herself.

“Ok, now we can talk,” she said as she sat the mugs down on the coffee table, this was going to be a difficult conversation that determined their future.  She had used the moments in the kitchen to compose and prepare herself for whatever came next.

“Regina,” she began, she’d thought this conversation through in her head so many times over the past few days.  Her heart beat wildly in her chest, she knew what she needed to say but it didn’t make it easy, to share herself so openly when she hadn’t done so with anyone before.  “I love you so much.  I love you with my entire heart and being.”

Fresh tears welled in Regina’s eyes but they were not of sadness, she was touched deeply by Emma’s simple words, “and I love you.”  It was easier to admit than she thought it would be.

Emma couldn’t help the goofy little smile that crept up on her, it was one thing to know that Regina loved her but it was another to hear it confirmed out loud.  Now wasn’t the right moment to celebrate this, they had other things they needed to talk about so she schooled her expression back to neutral.

“I’ve told you so many times now that I don’t care what anyone else in the town thinks of you or us.  I don’t even care what my parents think about us.  I do care what you think though, tell me what you’re thinking.”

Regina studied Emma’s face carefully, her mug in hand, she lifted it to her lips to take a sip.  She needed to sort her head out because everything was just a jumble of thoughts and feelings.  “I just don’t want to hurt you,” she looked down avoiding Emma’s gaze.  “If everyone hates you because of me, that will hurt you.”

“No, I can deal with anything they throw at me as long as you’re by my side, I meant what I said the other day in your office.  There’s nothing that you can say that will make me not want to be with you, we can face anything together.”

“They still see me as the Evil Queen,” her voice came out smaller than she had intended.

“You’re not her anymore, if they can’t see that then it’s their problem.”  She took Regina’s hands in her own, “I know you, I see all of you and I love all of you.  I love the woman you are, the one that has fought so hard to get where she is despite everything being against her.  You could have given in a thousand times over but you don’t because you’ve changed.”

More tears, damn when would she stop crying today.  “Emma,” there were no words that could express how she felt.  Regina couldn’t quite believe what she was about to say, “if we do this, everyone will think they have a right to air their opinion about us, good or bad.  It might not be easy.”

“You know things between us were never going to be easy,” a small smile quirked at her lips.

Regina returned the smile in kind, “true.”

There was a momentary awkward pause until Emma started speaking, “So, can we try us again?”

Another pause as Regina tried to reel in her thoughts, she had found life without the blonde far harder than she had ever imagined she would even for those few days.  Emma loved her, she was willing to go against what others might think for them to be together.

“Yes.”

The smile on Emma’s face was wondrous, she only saw it briefly though before the blonde had flown at her wrapping her arms tightly around Regina.  She laughed at the suddenness of it but returned the hug just as tightly.  They stayed that way for a time, revelling in the feel of each other.  When they came apart they both just gazed at one another, taking each other in.

Regina was the first to speak, her words coming out slightly hesitant, “I should have known, I should have talked to you first.”

“No, well yes you should have but that’s ok.  It’s ok to be scared.  I’m scared now because my parents are outside and we should probably talk to them.”

Regina scrunched up her nose, “I supposed we have to, I’d rather just leave them outside and pretend they aren’t there.”

“I wish,” Emma said as she stood, “I’ll go get them.”

It wasn’t long after when Emma returned, her parents following not far behind.  Regina was not so subtly glaring at them as Emma sat back down beside her.

Snow and Charming hovered awkwardly at first which prompted Regina to say, “well are you going to sit or continue standing there like idiots?”  Not the best thing to say but this side of her came out especially when she was feeling vulnerable.

Emma was amused and trying to hide it while her parents were looking a bit more offended however they did not say anything and instead sat on the edge of the other couch.

“Mom, Dad,” Emma began.  “Regina and I are together,” she looked over at the brunette and took her hand, squeezing it in reassurance.  “There’s nothing either of you, or anyone can say that will change that.”

Regina did not look at Snow or Charming, she had eyes only for Emma, she did not want to see the looks on their faces.

There was a pause where nobody spoke before Emma finally broke the silence, deciding that they’d had enough time processing.  “We love each other and she makes me happy,” she smiled at Regina as she spoke.

It was Snow who recovered first “we just…”

“No,” Emma said sensing where this was going, “this is not about either of you, so don’t start, we don’t want to hear your defensiveness.”

Turning from Emma to look at her parents, Regina decided she should speak.  She took a deep breath in and out, trying to steady her nerves and push forward.  “I love her; I never want to hurt her. She…and Henry, they’re everything to me, they help me be a better person in every way possible.”

Snow’s face softened, whether it was the look on Regina’s face, her tone or the words she spoke something inside her stirred.  She could see the love they shared and felt warmed by it, in fact she wondered how she had not seen this sooner.  Maybe she had and had been in denial about it all but now for what it was worth, it was so very obvious.

“Ok, I might not be entirely comfortable with this, not yet, it will be something I have to work on but I can now see how much you love each other and I can accept it.  It won’t make up for everything I’ve done and said but I’m sorry.” Snow was genuinely sorry for the way she had acted, if she had only taken a moment to think and talk to Emma in the first place instead of jumping on past prejudices then this whole mess could have been avoided.

Charming, nodded and muttered his agreement with his wife, with everything that was being said he was willing to accept them.

Now that she knew the Charming’s would accept them as being together, Regina felt a lot more at peace.  She may not like them all that much most of the time but she did want Emma to have a relationship with them that wasn’t divided by her and the look of happiness on the younger woman’s face made it all the better. 

Emma directed her attention towards her parents.  “I’m still super pissed at what happened but for now we can all move on from this mess.  Now, if you don’t mind I would like to spend some long deserved time with my beautiful girlfriend.”  She looked at Regina smiling, after the last couple of days all she wanted to do was be close to her.

That was that, straight to this point.  Emma was glad when her parents were gone and she was left alone with Regina. She felt entirely engulfed with feelings of love and happiness now they were together again, nothing else mattered for now.

The door had barely shut when they were wrapped around each other, desperation to be as close as possible clouding all other thoughts, lips crashing together in bruising kisses. 

“I missed you so much,” Regina managed to get out between kisses and gasps for breath.

“Me too, I missed you, this, us.”  Emma knew they would be ok but having it confirmed and Regina back in her arms had her soaring, happier than she could possibly imagine.


	13. Chapter 13

Sheriff duties entirely forgotten, Emma spent the hours till Henry returned home from school wrapped up in Regina.  For the most part they just cuddled and kissed, soaking in each other’s presence, savouring their time together.

When Henry arrived home he found them in the same place on the couch that they’d been all afternoon.  He grinned widely at the sight, “finally” he exclaimed.

The three of them spent the evening together as a family, Regina being in such a good mood meant that she allowed them to have pizza, she even let them eat in the living room in front of the TV. 

Henry chose a movie for them all to watch, not that Emma or Regina paid too much attention to what was going on.  They were far too content enjoying each other’s presence, which meant that Henry did groan at them to get a room at one point when he’d turned around and they were kissing.  It just made them laugh and Emma kissed Regina again getting a yuk from Henry as he turned back to the TV to watch the movie.

Before the movie was over Regina found her eyes drifting shut, she hadn’t slept properly since last weekend.  In Emma’s arms sleep came far easier, it was peaceful too, she was content and safe, she didn’t even stir till the movie was over and Henry was going to bed.  Once they’d said goodnight to him they too decided to retire for the evening, have an early night.  Now that they were back in each other’s arms they both had the best night sleep either of them had all week. 

Weeks later from that day they got back together things were going far better than Regina could ever have imagined.  The general town was now pretty accepting of them, there was no more speculation on intentions or anything like that.  It had been helped along by Snow showing her acceptance, which Regina was grateful for.  Ruby also was declaring how good they were together though that was partially to make up for what she had done.  Texting Emma that day had gotten them talking again and whilst their friendship was not completely back to normal they were working through it.

Snow and Charming had gotten used to the idea that Emma was going to be with Regina for the long run and even though they all still had their moments of bickering things were looking good.

Emma spent the majority of her time when she was not working with Regina, she practically lived with them though they had not had the official moving in conversation.  Neither of them really wanted to mention that just yet, it felt a little too soon even if the blonde did have her own keys to the house now.

They had settled into a pretty good routine together as a little family of three.  Regina made sure everyone was on time for school and work on a morning, she had no idea how Emma had managed before since she liked sleeping in past the alarm most mornings.  They’d spend their evenings all together, though there was the occasional night Henry would spend at his Grandparents so Emma and Regina would get some time alone.

On one of those evenings where they had the house to themselves they were curled up in bed together.

“Did I ever tell you how much I love you?”  Emma smiled.

“Yes, everyday” Regina spoke between kisses, “I love you too.”

They weren’t perfect, both their insecurities still got the better of them some days but they’d learnt to communicate when it did happen.  They argued occasionally but they were both too strong willed for it ever to be completely plain sailing, it was almost never anything too serious anyway.  Some days their love for each other was overwhelmingly blinding, it held them together and kept them going because together they could face anything.

They were each other’s new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much everyone who has been reading, it means so much to me that anyone would even consider reading this. I'm still amazed that I've managed to write and finish my very first multi-chapter fic, this was just a simple idea that I wanted to try out to get started in fic writing. I've enjoyed it so much that there will be more SwanQueen fics coming. Thank you to my wonderful beta BethieInside whose been a great help.  
> I hope you've all enjoyed reading, again thank you. x


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